


the prince and the gardener

by patricksdavid



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, i don't know how to use tags listen it's cute and gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-27 23:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patricksdavid/pseuds/patricksdavid
Summary: based on this tumblr post:oh to be a bored prince who keeps rejecting marriage proposals due to being secretly in love with the cute gardener boy (dal-selfships)/oh to be a cute gardener boy who secretely places roses in the prince’s room because he is in love with him (equalitymeanseveryonethesame)





	the prince and the gardener

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to Veronica (@nbc-trialanderror) for betaing and fixing my millions of verb tense errors and to Hind (@true-slytherin) for the support and various suggestions to make certain scenes better. Also, if Dan doesn't have to be clear with the timeline neither do I so good luck deciding what century this is supposed to be based in (listen I did more research about flower meanings than I did about anything royalty related so it's up to you to decide when this is taking place). Okay I'll shut up now thanks again to anyone who offered to read it before I posted and to anyone who reads it now.

“Ugh David, you know you have to accept one of these proposals one day right? You can’t keep saying no. Like, what was wrong with the last prince? Or the princess before that? They were both hot.” Alexis walks around the room to where her brother stands by the window, looking out to the courtyard below. She waves her arms in front of her brother trying to get his attention. He ignores her. She boops his nose. This finally breaks him free from the window.

“God Alexis what do you want?” he snips.

“Were you seriously not listening to a single thing I just said?”

“If it was about the whole marriage thing, I don’t want to hear about it.” He sighs and looks back out the window. It doesn’t matter. The gardener seems to be gone anyway. He turns his attention back to his little sister, trying not to show his annoyance, but he fails miserably.

“But you have to pick someone soon. Mom and dad are getting super annoyed.”

“That makes three of us,” he mutters under his breath. Alexis rolls her eyes.

“Okay drama queen, I was just trying to see if you wanted to talk.”

He pauses for a second, knowing he’s taking his annoyance out on the wrong person. Alexis isn’t trying to marry him off so that he can rule the kingdom. His parents are. He sighs lightly before responding to Alexis, this time a little softer.

“Technically I’m still only a prince, so I can’t be the drama queen. Can I get a drama prince sash?”

Alexis rolls her eyes, but it’s playful this time. A small smile tugs at her lips as she plays along. “I don’t know, David. I already had the drama queen one made for you. It might be too late to get them to change it.”

“Just give it to mom. She is the literal queen after all.” He smirks at the mental image of their mother wearing a custom made drama queen sash. She would love it.

“You know she already has one somewhere. Looks like you guys will just have to match.”

“Absolutely not. I draw the line at matching sashes, especially with my own mother. Have I not suffered enough?”

“Okay, wearing matching outfits each Christmas and doing that silly little number isn’t that bad.”

“You might want to talk to my therapist about that, Alexis.”

Before Alexis can respond, their servant Stevie walks into the room. “David, your parents request your presence in the great hall.”

“Can you tell them I’m busy?” he tries.

“I could if you actually were busy,” she answers dryly. 

Alexis giddily claps her hands together. “Ooh _burn_, David!”

“Fall off a bridge please,” he retorts before passing his sister and following Stevie out of his chambers. Once a safe enough distance from Alexis, he tries to pry information out of Stevie.

“Is this about the marriage situation? Because I really don’t have time to talk about that today,” he whispers as they continue down the hall.

“I checked your schedule. You have nothing planned.”

“You are entirely unhelpful.”

“Oh no, your parents keep trying to set you up with beautiful royalty. What a hard life,” she scoffs.

“It’s not like that.” He can’t explain why he keeps denying proposals. It’s not like he’s ever really thought he’d end up married. But he’s also never figured his parents would take it upon themselves to find him a partner. Given his past failures in relationships, they thought having an arranged marriage would be easier for him. No more broken hearts. But it wouldn’t work like that. 

Oblivious to his internal turmoil, Stevie presses on. “Then what is it?”

They’re almost to the grand hall and David refuses to acknowledge the real reason he keeps denying the proposals. He will not admit to his only friend that he denies every proposal he gets because of the cute curly-haired gardener that brings him flowers every other day. Nope, David Rose is not about to openly say that he refuses to get married to some hot royal just because he has a crush on the gardener. No way. So he shakes his head, pushes away his thoughts, and quickens his steps. He makes it to the grand hall in a few seconds. He turns towards Stevie, wishing she would stop smirking. Before she can open her mouth, he mutters “best wishes” before quickly opening the door. He hears Stevie reply with her usual “warmest regards” before he struts into the large room.

\--

An hour later, David returns to his chambers and falls face-first onto his mattress. He is tired of having to constantly make up thin excuses as to why he denied each proposal. Maybe he should just give in and accept the next proposal to make everyone happy. He attempts to roll onto his back to stare at the ceiling when he spots the fresh vase of flowers on his desk. Any lingering thoughts of just accepting the proposal are gone quickly as David stands and walks over to the desk. Black roses. His favorite. He suppresses a small smile and brings one to his nose, sniffing lightly. He remembers the first day he met Patrick...

_Annoyed, David stormed out of the castle. He needed to be alone. He walked aimlessly and tried to suppress the panic he felt rising with each passing second. After a while, he ended up in the gardens. Rows upon rows of flowers hosted an array of colors. David slowed and started down the row closest to him. Between the flowers and the tall hedges, he almost felt at peace. He took in a deep breath, slowly letting his anxiety flow out of him. He found himself in front of a lavender patch and stopped for a moment. He reached down and plucked a stem, holding it to his nose and letting the peaceful scent wash over him. He continued up and down the rows of flowers for a while, still holding the lavender and occasionally sniffing it. He made it to the last row until he encountered another human. A man was kneeling in the dirt picking at the ground. When David got closer, he could see that the man was picking the flowers. He paid no attention to David._

_“Have a big date later or something?” David joked to the stranger._

_Finally, the other man turned to look at David. “What?” he asked, pushing his curls out of the way to look up at David. Upon noticing who he was talking to, his eyes widened before he tried to bow. “Your highness! I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was you.”_

_David laughed quietly and shook his head. “Oh God, please don’t bow it’s no big deal.”_

_The stranger stood and cocked his head to the side. “Are you saying that being the prince is not a big deal?”_

_Now that he was upright, David got his first real look at the other man. He was a few inches shorter, but _fuck_ he was cute. Trying his hardest not to stare, David shook his head, partially to clear his mind and partially to answer the man’s question. “I guess I’m just not used to people stealing flowers from my garden and trying to distract me by bowing and not answering my questions.” He raised one of his thick eyebrows at the other man, smirking slightly._

_“I’m sorry, usually I steal these flowers at night and not under the watchful eyes of the prince. That’s on me.”_

_“Why would you steal these daisies anyways? There’s a whole row of various colored roses like two rows over. Not only are you a bad thief, but you’re also incorrect.”_

_The other man laughed suddenly as if David had said the funniest thing in the world and not just slightly insulted him. “Actually, I’m the new gardener. I’m Patrick.” He held out his hand before remembering who he was talking to and quickly lowered it._

_“David,” he replied._

_“Yeah, got that when I recognized you as the prince, but I’m glad to know you can introduce yourself when necessary.” This time it was Patrick who smirked slightly._

_“Okay. Well, have fun with your stolen flowers. Or not stolen flowers, I guess. Um, I should get back.” David stumbled over his words as he pointed past Patrick to the castle. Why was he suddenly flustered?_

_“Of course. I still have a few more flowers to pick and then distribute around the castle. Maybe I’ll see you around?” There was a hopeful glint to his eyes and David never wanted it to go away._

_“Yeah, maybe. Bye, Patrick.”_

_“Goodbye, your highness.”_

_“Just call me David.” _

_Patrick’s smile brightened. “Bye, David.” He waved softly as David passed him and made his way back to the castle, desperately trying to contain his smile and the weird feeling in his stomach..._

“What’cha got there, David?” Stevie’s voice rings out from somewhere behind David, ripping him from his memories into the present.

“Where the fuck did you come from?” David spins around to meet her, his eyes wide and heart pounding. He didn’t even hear her come in.

“I knocked like three times.” She looks behind David, and suddenly her face morphs into a knowing smirk. “Ah, I see _Patrick’s_ been by.” She emphasizes his name and her smirk grows.

“It appears he has,” David replies, trying his hardest to sound aloof and uninterested.

“And he just happened to leave everyone else red roses and give you your favorite black ones.”

David can’t tell if she’s playing with him or not. Surely Patrick gives everyone the black roses. He doesn’t give them just to David, right? Pushing the thought away, he tries to give Stevie his best death glare. “Everyone gets the same flowers. Why would I get different ones?” He regrets it as soon as he says it. Stevie’s grin turns mischievous. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Why else would the cute gardener you totally have a crush on leave you different flowers? Not to mention they’re your favorite.”

David wills everything in him not to blush, but he knows he’s failing. “What makes you think I have a crush on Patrick? He’s just being nice. He wants to keep his job, so he brings me the correct flowers. Do I look like a red rose type of person to you?”

“You look like a red Rose now.”

“Uh no, it’s just a new tinted moisturizer. Anyways, did you need something?”

“You seem flustered.”

“Nope. Maybe these roses are actually poisonous and the fumes are getting to me.”

“I hope they make you pass out so Patrick can kiss you like in those old fairy tales.”

“Okay, again, you are entirely unhelpful.” He tries to ignore the way his heart starts beating just a little bit faster at just the mention of kissing Patrick. God, he wants to kiss him. But there is no way in hell he is letting Stevie know that.

“I like this for you,” Stevie says softly.

“Like what? There’s nothing to like.”

“Whatever you say, your majesty,” Stevie replies, back to her usual snarky self, adding a dramatic curtsey for show.

“I hate you,” he breathes out.

“Not as much as you love Patrick.”

“Oh my God, I’m going to lock you in the dungeon if you say one more word.”

“Okay but you haven’t denied it.”

_Fuck_. David stumbles over his words, his hands flailing wilding through the air. “Okay, I am the prince. I don’t need to sit here and be attacked like this.”

“Okay, David. Anyways, I was supposed to come and tell you that dinner was ready, but I’d much rather stay here and continue to watch you blush over your crush.”

“You mean to tell me that I could be eating right now and instead I have been mocked for the last five minutes? I’m throwing you in the dungeon.”

“Okay, loverboy.”

David mutters another “I hate you” before quickly leaving his room and heading towards food.

\--

David can’t actually throw Stevie in the dungeon for teasing him, much to his dismay, but he settles for glaring at her throughout dinner. He rushes out of the dining hall once the meal is over, desperate for some time alone. He sneaks out of the castle and makes his way towards the gardens. The sun had long ago set, but the weather is still quite pleasant outside: warm but with a breeze. The gardens are lit softly with lamps every few feet, creating a comforting atmosphere. David stops in front of the black roses. They are a fairly new addition, nestled at the end of a row filled with roses of every color. He admires the way they stand out from the rest of the flowers around them but don’t lack in beauty. If anything, the stark black among the various colors gives his soul peace.

“You know, I put the flowers in your room so you don’t actually have to come outside. I know how you feel about bugs.”

David turns to meet Patrick, already trying to suppress the smile that seems to form every time he sees the other man. “I fear bugs are a risk I have to face if it means I get to be alone for a while.” David smiles softly at the other man. Patrick tilts his head as his lips turn down slightly.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you wanted to be alone. I can go. I was just checking on the garden one last time and-”

Patrick is cut off by David’s hands flying forward and grabbing his wrist as he tries to pass. “No, no you can stay. I just meant like, from Stevie and Alexis,” David rushes the words out, not wanting the whole reason he came to the garden to leave already.

Patrick stops and smiles. “Okay,” he says quietly, looking down to where David is still hanging onto his wrist. David drops his hand quickly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you.”

“No, you’re the prince, you can do whatever you want.”

David refuses to let his mind wander on that statement. If he could do whatever he wanted, he would grab Patrick and kiss him until they were breathless. But he can’t do that. Before his mind seems to think better of it, he scoffs. “Not always.”

“What do you mean?” Patrick seems genuinely interested in David’s answer, which is new for him. He isn’t used to people caring about what he has to say.

“It’s just-” David pauses, trying to figure out what he wants to say. Well, he _can’t _say what he wants to say. That he has feelings for Patrick. These are stupid feelings that are one-sided and getting in his way and he doesn’t know what to do about them. Stupid feelings that are hindering his ability to make his parents happy by settling down with someone and expanding the kingdom or whatever they want from him. Patrick watches carefully as David sighs. “I don’t even know,” David whispers, defeated.

“Can I show you something?” Patrick asks cautiously. David meets his eyes and sees warmth and kindness in them, something he isn’t used to seeing. He nods tentatively and suddenly Patrick’s hand is in his own, leading the way.

Patrick leads David through the garden and farther from the castle. Despite being outside at night, David feels safe. It doesn’t hurt that Patrick is still holding his hand. They walk in comfortable silence, neither wanting to speak and shift the mood. After a few minutes, they make it to a dark building. Patrick opens the door and turns back to David, smiling softly. David follows him into the building.

It isn’t as dark as David thought it would be in the building. Although he can’t make out what exactly is inside, he can see Patrick in the moonlight. He figures it’s just the light reaching in from the still open doorway until he takes a closer look around and realizes they’re in the greenhouse. At that moment, Patrick flips the switch on the wall, illuminating the room. There are multiple tables spread around the room with various plants growing from small pots. David figures that a lot of the plants seem to be in the early stages of growing since he can’t see any full-grown flowers. 

“I haven’t been here in years. I actually forgot about it,” David finally says, turning towards Patrick and looking at him before looking down and realizing their hands are still clasped together. Patrick must be realizing the same thing, and he quickly removes his hand from David’s. Trying not to frown from the lack of contact, David looks back at Patrick’s face, trying his hardest not to let his eyes linger on his lips.

“It’s one of my favorite places,” Patrick replies easily as he moves to shut the door. David raises a questioning eyebrow at the other man who simply says, “That way no bugs can get in.” David wants to crowd Patrick against said door and show him his gratitude by kissing him senseless, but he restrains himself and settles for a soft smile instead. Patrick moves to one of the nearest tables and gestures to one of the many pots filled with dirt. “I love trying to grow different types of flowers. These ones will be black tulips. They’re often called the ‘Queen of the Night’ flowers and they’re supposed to be pretty easy to maintain. I love the stark contrast between the black flower and the rest of the garden. It makes them stand out.”

David nods and quietly watches as Patrick continues to discuss different types of flowers. David loves watching him talk. His eyes light up and he gazes fondly over the pots of dirt, recounting what flowers he planted and where he wants to transport them into the actual garden once they grow. After a few minutes, Patrick stops abruptly.

“I’m sorry, I know this isn’t that interesting and I don’t know why I even brought you here because it’s just dirt but-“

David cuts Patrick off, refusing to see the spark leave his eyes for even one second. “No, please,” he tells him, his voice suddenly pleading. “This is nice. You can talk about whatever you want. I like your company.” David notices a slight pink appear on Patrick’s cheeks and he’s sure his own are quickly darkening as he speaks, but he doesn’t care. He can stay here for hours and just listen to Patrick talk about anything.

“Oh, okay. I like your company too.” 

Patrick smiles as he speaks, and David’s pretty sure he can feel his heart in his throat but he doesn’t care. Hearing Patrick confirm that he also enjoys David’s company causes David’s mind to stop working. The only thing he can think of is the desire to kiss Patrick and he finds it unbearable to resist any longer. He is just about to lean in and close the distance between them when the overhead light flickers. 

Patrick must feel the energy change in that moment too, and once the lights flicker he glares up at them. “I must not have wired that right,” he says.

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s supposed to do that. Guess we can’t add electrician to the list of skills you have,” David teases lightly, suppressing his disappointment in the lost moment.

Patrick feigns offense. “These lights were working perfectly since I rewired them two weeks ago. They must have been nervous to have to work around royalty.”

David rolls his eyes and plays along. “Well as the prince, I demand they work properly next time we’re here.” He doesn’t mean for the last few words to slip out. David hasn’t been in the greenhouse since he was a kid, and suddenly he’s insinuating that he will come back here soon. Granted, if Patrick asked, he would come back every day if he wanted.

Patrick just smiles softly. “I will make sure they work so you won’t have to be subjected to the awful flickering again.”

“My hero,” David singsongs as if he isn’t fully swooning over the man in front of him.

Patrick shakes his head, but the soft smile is still there and the blush is creeping back. He clears his throat and looks back at David. “Come on, we should get you back to the castle.” He holds his hand out and David takes it eagerly, relishing in the feeling as Patrick turns the lights out and leads them back to the castle.

-

David wakes up the next morning to a pillow slapping him in the face. He groans and rolls over to glare at whatever monster is attempting to wake him up in such a manner, but he is only met with Stevie staring at him.

“Can I help you?” he speaks bitterly, already trying to curl back up into his covers.

“Yeah, I was told to make sure you were awake and ready for your new suitor that’s coming by later.”

“I’ll pass, thanks so much” David mutters into his pillow.

“I know you’ll end up passing, but you still have to go.” Stevie’s voice lacks any emotion.

“Hmm, but it would be so much easier for everyone involved if I actually didn’t have to meet another gorgeous prince or princess and could just say no before they even arrived.”

“Ah, so you do have your mind made up before they arrive,” Stevie suddenly seems interested in the conversation and it takes David’s sleep-muddled mind a minute to catch up and realize what he said.

_Fuck_. David forces himself to give Stevie his best death glare, but it’s falling short. 

“And again, none of these premeditated rejections have anything to do with Patrick?”

David shakes his head. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Stevie’s face morphs into yet another smirk. “Oh, you know, Patrick. The gardener. The one who brings you your favorite flowers for no reason. The one you’re constantly looking at when he’s down in the courtyard below. The person you sneak off with when you don’t think anyone knows. The guy you’re totally in love with.”

“I am not in love with Patrick,” David replies snippily. Because he isn’t. He thinks, _I’ve never been in love before. I just have a minor crush on Patrick. And he might be the only person I can think about. And sometimes I might even get lost in the fantasy of running my hands through his curls, but I’m not_ in love_ with_\--

_\--fuck. I’m in love with Patrick_.

Stevie watches David closely, obviously observing the entire journey that is clearly marked on David’s highly expressive face. She seems to soften at that, which just puts David on edge even more. “I like this for you,” she reminds him.

“There’s nothing to like,” David sighs, defeated. He, David Rose, is helplessly in love with Patrick Brewer and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.

Stevie opens her mouth to speak, but suddenly there’s a knock at the door. She moves to open it and David hears Patrick’s voice from the hallway.

“Oh, Stevie, hi. Sorry I’m late, but here are David’s flowers,” he says a little rushed, maybe even a little flustered, but David can’t focus and instead buries his head deeper into his pillow.

Stevie seems to say something back and they share hushed whispers for a moment, but David’s pulled his blankets over his head so he can’t make out anything they’re saying. A few moments later, Stevie is back at David’s side and pulling him from his cocoon.

“Are you not gone yet?” David says as he tries to pull the blankets back.

“This is pathetic,” Stevie mutters under her breath. There’s a pause where David thinks he’s off the hook and can just go back to bed, but Stevie speaks again, louder this time and from farther away. “Oh look, a note!”

David’s head pops fully out of his blanket cocoon, staring at the folded piece of paper in Stevie’s hand. He’s never gotten out of bed faster. He rips the note out of Stevie’s hand and she lets him, honestly just happy that he’s finally out of bed so she can begin making it. David turns away from Stevie and opens the note, begging his heart to calm the fuck down.

_Think I fixed the lighting if you ever find yourself in the greenhouse again. Patrick x_

David rereads the note three times, willing the smile he could feel forming to stop. He furrows his brows and pushes the smile to the side of his face. All he can think about is the kiss at the end of the note. _What the fuck does that mean?_

-

Thankfully, David is able to hide the contents of the note from Stevie, but knowing her she probably read it before she told David about it and she will most likely give him shit about it later. However, now David has to get ready to meet yet another suitor that he will quickly say no to. He dons his official outfit reserved for these ceremonies, makes sure his hair still looks good, and begins his journey to the great hall. 

Of course, he runs into none other than Patrick Brewer on his way to the hall. The other man is walking quickly and surely, holding at least a dozen red roses. David feels his pulse quicken when he sees Patrick. He looks so romantic carrying all those roses. For a second, David imagines Patrick is the suitor he’s supposed to be meeting. Of course he would do something cute and cheesy like bring flowers to a first date. But before David’s mind gets too far away from him, Patrick looks up and slows down, almost to where David is glued to his spot in the middle of the hall.

“Hi,” he breathes out softly once he reaches David.

“Hi,” he responds just as softly, a smiling pulling at his lips. “Bringing me more roses for good luck?” 

Patrick looks down, seemingly surprised to see the roses in his hand. “Oh, of course not. These are red. You like the black ones.” He looks up and catches David’s eye again, a small smile forming. Before David can come up with a reply, Patrick is speaking. “I should let you go. I know you have to go meet that new prince soon. But hey, maybe he likes red roses? You could give him one?” Patrick tentatively hands a single rose to David, who feels himself blush despite his best efforts.

“Thank you, Patrick,” David replies softly, looking down at the single rose in his hand. Patrick smiles and starts to move past David, his hand brushing David’s arm lightly as he passes. David turns to watch Patrick leave and is surprised to see him look back and _wink _right before he passes out of sight. David takes a deep breath, partially to calm down from whatever _that _was, but also to clear his mind before spending the afternoon with yet another prince that he will end up rejecting.

-

David pushes open the doors to the great hall only to see Sebastien fucking Raine standing in the middle of the room. He eyes David up and down, his gaze lingering on the rose still in David’s hand. He walks swiftly towards David and presses a kiss on each cheek in greeting.

“David. You look so … healthy. Did you bring me a rose? How charming.” 

David pulls away from Sebastien and hides the rose behind his back. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Before he can get an answer, David’s entire family is walking into the great hall.

“David, you’re early! Sorry we were late, but this is Sebastien-”

“Raine I know. We literally already dated. How did you manage to invite my ex? Isn’t there some type of screening process?” David huffs.

“Oh David, how are we possibly supposed to keep track of all your various suitors,” Moira exclaims.

“Maybe this is a sign that you two deserve a second chance, son,” Johnny tries encouragingly.

“Oh my God, David is this that prince you dated for like three months? The artist or something?” Alexis quips, obviously enjoying David’s discomfort.

“Okay, everyone be quiet. Sebastien, you can leave. There is no way in hell I am going to agree to this.”

Sebastien seems to take everything in stride. “Come on, David, let us at least catch up over a meal. I can’t wait to hear about what you’ve been up to since we ended things. That is, if you have done anything?” Sebastien questions cooly. Nobody seems to notice the glare David is giving Sebastien.

“Well, the meal is already prepared; we shouldn’t waste it,” Johnny chimes in.

David realizes he doesn’t have any real control over the situation, so he sits at the long table and tries not to sulk. His mind drifts to Patrick. Even though Patrick teases him, there’s never any malice behind it. It’s not like when Sebastien says yet another comment about the amount of dessert David takes. With Sebastien it stings. But Patrick would probably tease him softly. Or maybe he wouldn’t say anything at all--he is a nice person after all. Patrick’s probably the only nice person David’s liked. David continues to think about Patrick while tuning out whatever bullshit Sebastien says.

Finally, the meal is over and David is able to quickly reject any proposal before it even leaves Sebatien’s mouth. He stands up and storms out of the dining hall, not even caring that it made him look like a child. He can’t take a single minute more of that hell. He goes to his chambers and paces around, considering his options. It’s far too early to sleep. Maybe he can read something? But then his eyes land on the flowers from this morning and he’s reminded of the note that he had snuck into his pocket that was with him all day. He wants nothing more than to see Patrick. He doesn’t even bother changing out of his official courting uniform and instead walks swiftly out to the gardens, staying close to the shadowy walls and avoiding anyone he sees. 

By the time he makes it to the garden, the sun has nearly finished its descent. The world is cast in a warm glow and David allows himself to relax for the first time in hours. He takes a deep breath and enjoys the way the setting sun brings out the reds and yellows in the garden. Even the black flowers seem to glow in the low light. It’s peaceful.

“Ah, there’s my favorite rose,” a familiar voice says from behind.

David turns and meets Patrick’s smile with his own. The stress from the past few hours seems to evaporate from David’s body the minute he sees Patrick.

“Are you supposed to have favorites? Is that allowed?”

“Hmm, good question. You know, I’m not sure, but I still have a favorite anyway.” He seems sheepish almost, his head ducking slightly.

“And which one is your favorite?” David asks hopefully, trying not to give away his feelings, but this is happening, right? Patrick is calling David his favorite? Maybe the feelings David has are being reciprocated. Maybe-

“Oh, definitely the bright orange ones.”

_Wait, what? _David must seem confused because Patrick points to the orange roses in front of them.

“Right, yeah, the flowers, of course.” David tries to shake off the weight of the disappointment he feels by criticizing himself for being so stupid. Of course Patrick doesn’t have feelings for him. He was talking about the flowers. “I would have pegged you for a standard red rose type of guy.”

Patrick seems to study David for a second until deciding on an answer. “I wouldn’t dream of declaring my favorite rose to be a red one. I remember that you deemed them ‘highly incorrect and basic’ at least a few times.”

“Oh, and you think bright orange is a better choice?”

“Of course. Orange roses symbolize the same things as red roses, but with more enthusiasm. The orange is a mix between the friendship of the yellow roses and the deep love of the red roses. Orange roses express fascination and excitement.”

David feels his cheeks warm watching Patrick talk so passionately about roses, which is dumb. They’re just talking about flowers, as Patrick has so obviously made it clear, but something feels like maybe he_ isn’t_ just talking about the flowers.

Instead of risking the idea of David actually admitting his feelings, he goes with the much safer route: soft teasing. “You sure know a lot about flowers. I can see why you got the job.”

“I guess you could say I really like roses. Especially a particular Rose.”

Things seem to shift between them. Patrick’s eyes dart to David’s lips but he makes no effort to move. _Oh fuck it,_ David thinks before he steps closer and brings his hand to the back of Patrick’s neck. He hesitates for a second, giving Patrick the opportunity to pull away, but he doesn’t, so David leans in the rest of the way and closes the distance.

It starts softly, just the press of their lips, but then they melt into it, into each other. It’s perfect.

When they pull back, neither can stop their smiles from forming. Patrick speaks first. 

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“That’s the first time I’ve done that … with a guy.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and I was getting pretty nervous that I would let you leave another night without us having done that, so thank you for making that happen for us.”

David smiles, enamored by this man. “Fortunately, I am a very generous prince.”

“Right. Can we talk tomorrow?”

“We can talk whenever you’d like. But preferably not before mid-morning, because I’m not really a morning person.”

Patrick smiles so wide at David, almost as if he can’t believe this is actually happening. David leans in and kisses him again.

“Goodnight, Patrick.”

“Goodnight, David.”

-

David finds himself actively searching out Stevie for the first time in months the next morning. He finds her lounging on a couch in one of the various rooms in the castle. He doesn’t even bother with a greeting.

“Fine, I’m in love with him. But there is no scenario where this ends well for me.”

“Good morning to you too, your highness,” she replies dryly, which is odd because she never addresses him formally unless-

“Who are you in love with?”

_Fuck_. “Dad! What the fuck are you doing here?” David sputters, desperately wishing he had looked into the room before barging in and opening his mouth.

Johnny doesn’t seem to mind the outburst, instead pushing gently. “David, which prince did you like? We can send for him again and try to smooth things over.”

David’s mind stops working. He can lie and list one of the various princes he’s seen in the last few months, but he didn’t like any of them. He likes Patrick. _Loves _him. He can come clean and tell the truth. Tell everyone about Patrick. But they had only just kissed last night and there is a high possibility of Patrick having regrets or not actually having feelings for David, so there is no way he is going to open that can of worms before he’s even talked to Patrick. Instead, he takes in a breath and tries to act natural.

“I don’t remember saying anything like that. Yeah, no, I think you’re hearing things. I should really go,” David mutters as he steps back into the hallway, avoiding Stevie’s smirk and Johnny’s confusion.

“But you said-”

“Yeah, bye!” David quickly turns on his heel and speed walks down the hallway.

By the time David makes it back to his chambers, he’s ready to just fall into bed and nap his misery away when he catches sight of the flowers left on his desk. Instead of the usual dozen black roses, there’s a variety today: six black and six bright orange. David walks closer, inspecting them for another note. He is not disappointed.

_In case I wasn’t clear last night: you’re definitely my favorite Rose. Patrick x_

David folds the note and tries his hardest to suppress the giddy feeling he feels throughout his entire body. That was quite possibly one of the cheesiest lines Patrick could have said, but it works for him. Any other time someone says something similar to David, he just gives them an eye roll in return. He slips the note into his pocket and decides to head to the gardens a little earlier than usual today.

Ten minutes later, David is nearing the rose bushes when he hears someone humming quietly. He can’t identify the song, but it gets louder the closer to his destination he gets. The voice is beautiful: just the right mix of soulful and melodic. Of course the voice belongs to Patrick. He is bent over, picking at the flowers in front of him. He looks so at peace, just humming quietly among the flowers. Almost as if sensing David’s presence, Patrick turns and gives the prince a soft smile.

Patrick lets out a breathy “Hi” as he stands and turns towards David fully. They both stand there smiling but not quite moving. Patrick wipes the dirt off his hands and David leans forward and kisses him on the cheek.

“Well someone’s been busy,” David notes as he looks down the row of neatly maintained flowers. There isn’t a weed in sight.

Patrick nods. “Yeah, been up since sunrise. Could not sleep. Been thinking about stuff … you know, last night.” _Were the orange roses too much? Was the note?_

“Regrets?” David asks quickly, hoping that Patrick would be kind and let him down easily if he didn’t feel the same. 

“What no, why would I have regrets? Unless you actually hate the roses, then I’d regret including those today, but no, I don’t regret last night. It’s all pretty new, but it feels good. This feels good.”

David can’t _not_ kiss Patrick after he says something like that, so he does. It is short and sweet but still perfect. They pull apart and smile softly at each other.

“Normally, orange roses would be incorrect, but I guess I can make a compromise this time.” Patrick’s arms wrap around David’s waist, pulling him closer. David’s arms fit loosely around Patrick’s shoulders and he plays with a few loose curls at the back of Patrick’s head.

“Hm, so you would want a full orange bouquet tomorrow then?” David must be giving Patrick a look of pure horror, because suddenly he is chuckling softly, mostly to himself. “Maybe I’ll mix oranges and purples? Throw some green in there?”

“I hope for everyone’s sake that you are joking because there is no way that I would ever tolerate mixing those colors together.”

“Noted.” Patrick pauses, studying David for a moment, just relishing in being able to hold him in his arms. “You know, when you kissed me, it felt like my first time. All the things you’re supposed to feel? I felt them last night.”

“Well if we’re being honest, it’s kind of like my first time too. I mean it’s not, I’ve kissed like a thousand people, but nobody that I cared about, or respected … or thought was nice. So in a way, it’s like we’re both starting something new.”

“Thank you, David. And for the record, I also respect you and think you’re a good person.”

“Hm. It’s just that I said you were nice.”

Patrick crowds closer to David. “You’re a good person,” he repeats before kissing David.

“Just need you to say nice,” David mutters against Patrick’s lips after they pull apart.

“I don’t think princes are allowed to be nice. But they can be good.”

“I take it back. You’re not nice.”

Patrick grins widely. “I think you’ll learn that I’m not always nice, David.” And _oh, okay._ But before David can reply, Patrick is leaning into him and kissing him again.

-

David stands outside the door of the great hall debating for the thirtieth time that day how he is going to start this conversation. It has been a week since he first kissed Patrick and things are good, really truly _good_, but David’s parents are still trying to set up meetings with various royals who want to marry into the Rose family. He isn’t ashamed of Patrick at all, but things are still so new and he doesn’t want to scare him away. But David also knows that receiving multiple marriage proposals from various royals isn’t making anything easier. He steels his nerves and pushes open the door only to find Patrick already talking to his parents.

“Oh David, Pat here was just bringing us our weekly flowers, isn’t he delightful?”

“Ok, we're not doing ‘Pat’,” David says at the same time Patrick says, “I should be going.” He bows to Johnny and Moira. 

“Actually, you can stay,” David says, much to everyone’s surprise. Patrick catches David’s eye and seems to say _Are you sure? _To which David replies silently _Of course,_ so now they’re the kind of couples that can communicate by _looking _at each other, and before David can think about _that _for much longer he realizes that he still has yet to say why he is there.

Johnny and Moira seem to share an eye conversation of their own but they don’t question David. He turns to address them and decides to get right to the point. 

“It’s time you guys call off the whole trying to set me up with someone thing because I already met someone. And not surprisingly, having other people propose to you can kind of make things a bit uncomfortable? Especially when a relationship is so new?” It isn’t supposed to sound like a question, but with three sets of expectant eyes staring at him, he can’t help but overthink things.

“And who might this specimen with whom you have found yourself so enamored be?” Moira questions and David can tell without even looking at him that Patrick is smirking.

“It’s um... he’s uh... Patrick actually,” David says while pointing to Patrick to make sure his parents understand.

“Oh, son, that’s great news!” Johnny says excitedly. “We just wanted you to be happy, and if Patrick makes you happy, then we can call off the suitor search.”

David lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding as he watches his mother nod and smile lightly. “And you found yourself such a winsome horticulturist all on your own. This is quite an extraordinary discovery!”

“Okay, you don’t have to sound so surprised. But we’re good here? No more random royalty will try to propose to me anymore?”

“We’ll take care of it,” Johnny assures before dismissing David and Patrick.

Once in the hallway, David crowds into Patrick’s space, thankful that they can do this freely without caring about what anyone thinks. 

“I think that went well,” David says tentatively so that it sounds more like a question than a statement.

“Yeah, I’d say so. They’re nice.”

“Oh, so my parents can be nice, but I’m still only a ‘good person?’” David retorts, trying his hardest to glare at Patrick. The other man’s smirk only grows.

“That’s correct.” He reaches up and kisses David.

“There was one very important piece of information that I was curious about though,” David nearly whispers into Patrick’s ear. Patrick replies with a simple tilt of his head as he raises an eyebrow, urging David to continue. “My mom mentioned it was a _weekly _flower drop off? I’ve been getting flowers nearly every day for months?”

Patrick looks down as a blush creeps up his neck. “I may have been giving you extra flowers on the off chance that you would notice me,” he admits sheepishly.

“Well, it worked.”

“I’m glad it did.”

“Me too.” David leans in and closes the distance between them yet again. He could kiss this man forever. Maybe he will.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: sapphicstories  
tumblr: patricksdavid


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